Over the course of the next month until the NBA Draft on June 24, RTC will be rolling out comprehensive profiles of the 30-35 collegians we feel have the best chance to hear their names called by David Stern in the first round that night. There won’t be any particular order to the list, but you can scroll back through all the finished profiles by clicking here.
Player Name: Terrico White
School: Mississippi
Height/Weight: 6’5, 203
NBA Position: Shooting Guard
Projected Draft Range: Late First Round
Overview: Combo guard Terrico White stepped onto the Ole Miss campus with a top 100 ranking as a high school senior, the Tennessee AAA Mr. Basketball crown, and the hope of Rebel supporters that he’d inject a little hoops excitement into Oxford. He didn’t disappoint during his freshman year, taking over at point guard after teammate Chris Warren was injured — a move that definitely suited his game — and won SEC Freshman of the Year honors. Many fans were disappointed in his sophomore campaign, citing decreased numbers across the board, but that has to be attributed to going back to playing shooting guard, and to the presence of a returned Warren and a couple of improved teammates in Murphy Holloway and Eniel Polynice. He will play mostly SG in the NBA, but his turns at PG really showed off his entire game better.
Will Translate to the NBA: He’s got great pace bringing the ball up the floor on the break, and the one of the best parts of his game is that he’s able to pull up and drain a jumper or juke his defender and drive to the basket with no fear. He gets down so low when he breaks down a defender, we mean it as a compliment when we say that he may be 6’5, but at times plays shorter than that. He knows how to use a screen to his advantage and loves coming off the curl to go straight up or use his quick first step to dart by his defender. Also, he has great one-on-one skill, which only increases his NBA marketability.
Needs Work: Despite his excellent handle, he had stretches of being turnover-prone, more in terms of decision-making and bad passes than getting stripped or mishandling. He can get a little snazzy sometimes and worry more about making the highlight reel than making the smart or safe play. As we said, he’s got a nice jumper, but its reliability falls off when he steps behind the arc, and he’ll have to work hard to improve on his sophomore-year 35% from three point range if he’s going to be spending most of his time at SG.
Comparison Players: White has a little size on him, but his ability to play either guard spot is reminiscent of Jason Terry. White may even be a better finisher at the rim than Terry, though. A better comparison might be Anthony Parker of the Cavaliers; both guys are great off the dribble and have jumpers that teams have to respect.
Best Case Scenario: If White adds that little bit of length to his jump shot and cuts down on the turnovers, he’ll realize his full potential. Multi-tasking guards are always in high demand in the NBA, and a Ben Gordon-like career is not out of the question. If you can shoot, drive to the hole confidently, and defend well, you’ll find an NBA team that can use you (or several), and White could enjoy an excellent career filling holes for teams with his knowledge of both guard positions.
2013 Projection: He’ll have to get used to role-player status for his first couple of seasons, and work on his weaknesses in practice during that time. By the beginning of his third season he should be used to the NCAA-to-NBA leap in terms of overall skill level, and his confidence will increase. Depending on the guard-specific needs of the team that drafts him, we’d expect to see a few double-figure games sprinkled into his box score line, but his continued success in the league will be determined by whether he develops the offensive skills we’ve outlined above without sacrificing anything on the defensive side.
Best NBA Fit: If he’s going to be drafted in the late first round, he might as well go to the Nets (27th pick). The shooting guard situation isn’t completely stable there, with Courtney Lee and Chris Douglas-Roberts. He could spell Devin Harris at the point every so often since Keyon Dooling is the only backup there. Avery Johnson would be a fine former NBA guard to learn under, as well. In terms of playing time, it might even be better for him to leak into the second round and get snagged by Sacramento (33rd pick), since Tyreke Evans, Beno Udrih, and Francisco Garcia are pretty much the only guards that team has.